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Eritrea pledges not to harm citizens who fled conscription if they return

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle January 9, 2012 (ADDIS ABABA) - Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki has said that he will guarantee the safety of tens of thousands of young people who fled the country to avoid forced conscription

By Tesfa-Alem Tekle

January 9, 2012 (ADDIS ABABA) – Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki has said that he will guarantee the safety of tens of thousands of young people who fled the country to avoid forced conscription in the military, should they chose to return to the East African nation.

In an interview with state TV, the President said any citizen willing to return home is highly welcomed. He further assured that no Eritrean upon return home will be subjected to any harm.

Political repression and military conscription have pushed thousands of young Eritreans to flee their country. Eritrean national service is mandatory for all citizens both male and female aged between 18 and 48 years.

Every month thousands of young Eritreans risk their lives attempting to sneak across the country’s heavily militarised border into neighboring Ethiopia and Sudan. With many more arriving on daily basis, currently Ethiopia hosts over 60,000 Eritreans in four camps.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimated in 2011 that there are over 100,000 Eritrean refugees in Sudan, with around 1,600 crossing the border every month.

Eritrean conscripts are mainly forced to man the countries long border with Ethiopia. The two nations have never fully resolved a border dispute that erupted into conflict in 1998 killing 80,000. The border has remained tense ever since with Ethiopia refusing to accept an international ruling on border dispute.

Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993 after decades of civil war. Both nations now accuse the other of backing rebels in each others territory.

In the past, the Eritrean President has dismissed concerns that his country is seeing large number of youth fleeing the country, labeling them as “a bunch of traitors”.

Reliable sources indicate that a large number of Eritreans currently face detention incommunicado without charge or trial for evading military conscription, in suspicion of opposition to government or for attempting to escape the country or upon return from exile.

According to UN the reclusive nation has one of the worst human rights records in the world.

Human rights groups accuse the government in Asmara of turning the country into a “giant prison’’. Eritrea is also continent’s foremost jailer of journalists.

In the latest interview President Isaias, who is the first and only head of state Eritrea has had since independence in 1993, rejected calls to conduct national elections.

He stressed his country won’t hold elections just to please the West, indicating that there were no plans to hold national elections under his rule.

The former Ethiopian province not had any electoral democracy since it gained independence from Ethiopia. The Peoples Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), which led the revolution has since become the only legal political party.

The Eritrean government uses harsh measures against dissident and uses arrests and threats as a weapon to retain control over the public. The country’s only higher institution, Asmara University, was shut down in 2006 and replaced by military-run colleges.

(ST)

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29 COMMENTS
  • Abrahaley ETiDine January 10, 2012

    It is a known quote, but I don’t know you said it.
    Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.”

    In other words: this time, its your fault for being fooled. Aster Yohannes the wife Petros solomon a dedicated mother to her four children was granted to come back. You all know what Isaias did to her.
    Who is giving amenesty to who ? Eritreans will came back to thier homeland for sure not get ammenesity but to persecute the coward isaias.

  • Kokhob Selam January 10, 2012

    Why they return back if the main cause is not removed?

  • agelglot January 10, 2012

    hayyyy my dear president,what is the rest,do u want to fool us again,my dear we don’t want to see u again and again,u are torturing ppl of eritrea but,u will not leave fr ever now u are daying of economic and moraly,and the ppl of eritrea is going his freedom so quiqly more than u think it. LONG LIVE ERITREA AND ERITREA PPL WE WILL WIN.

  • Amanuel ; birmingham January 10, 2012

    I donot advice any one to return to Eritrea unless they have serious problem and life threating health issues. Our past experience with the Malta and Libya returnees what happened to them will definetly happen to others.

    where are those 500 Eritreans repatraite through a known legal means. They all disappear and those return from Egypet also disappear so how could others return to Eritrea. It is better to stay in the refugee campus in Ethiopia and Sudan. Yes, there is not place better than your country but if there is no peaceful life in your country what could you do?. We Eritreans in the west should support these refugee to get education and traning in the campus. Lets give our time to train them and enable them to get skill and knowldge that enable them to start life in the camp and other small cities in Ethiopia. By doing this we could save the life of many Eritreans from the desparte situation in the camps.

    It is our repsonsibility to provide them advise and information what they should do and how they should manage their life. we need to create strong link with the local and national authorities in Ethiopia and sunda and get space to do this.

  • Cambo January 10, 2012

    Where is Aster Yohannes, the wife of Petros Solomon a mother of four children, who was told by ambassador Girma Asmerom, she was safe to come back from USA.
    Aster is still languishing in jail more than ten years. If Aster is not safe, you will not be safe.
    If Issaias cares about you, let him free Aster Yohanes first.

  • Abdi January 10, 2012

    We will stay until we get the documents and the life standard we fled the country for,after that definitely will go home either for opening a business or annual visits,and those who committed crimes against Eritreans like amaneul Birmingham and alikes will die in exile regardless PIA is in power or not.

    • sol January 10, 2012

      Hi Andemariam,

      Why do not go back and live in Eritrea, I think u are in love with Nesu , u can move in with him if u do not have a place there.

  • ghezai January 10, 2012

    what ,he so scare now .kab meneseyat

  • revolution January 10, 2012

    Mister President (blood thirst) we know you more than anyone else in this world. We had been serving you because we thought you are the right man to lead the country in to right way
    However we haven’t really until you had locked the people fought as same as your level no one know how many of them lift alive, that is really gloomy. And now you asked us to return and work for you.
    Who foolish do thing get back in Eritrea and stay there. And watching you everyday on ERTV. Or on your new paper (hadas Eritrea) which is your album Mr. president
    You said. Most of the people who left (fled) the country they have regretted. That is really making me giggle. Just to say. I am one of them never regretted or will regret and I know a dozen of people have the same feel. I don’t know who told to you that
    You evil not have a Mersey even for your best comrades and what ever you say we never thrust you again Mr. President
    I wish you will face a justice soon
    God bless for the Eritrea people who are voiceless and oppressed

  • saah1972@yahoo.com January 10, 2012

    OHHHHHH this mad dog president is absolutly crazy, he can’t even remeber what he said in his previous interiview, i don;t think now eritrean youth will be fooled by this opressor again, we can return to our country when ever we want just lets leave to time, and thing will not remain the same there could be a change in near future, i would rather trust weyane than this brutal president.once he called us MADA HAGER and now trying to convinced us to return to our beloved country so that he will put us like any other eritrea in solitary confinment, is this what he think??? he made us beggers, immigrants,, sold our pride…what a shame.

  • Abdi January 10, 2012

    Its really funny to see people start to believe the lies they created,wereqet elna hasina ember enda zharemna yelon,yes there are few idiots who couldn’t play it well and failed to get what they fled for,so why you blame PIA for ur failure?and these are the ones who had their brain washed by the oppositions as if the opposition gonna save them from their failure.
    “Zey semaka debri aytmahlel”kem zbehal the oppositions are working for their own benefits,and you will ended up inbetween.so ms mengstkha aytbeas,as for fleeing the country,the gov’t and the Eritrean people understand why you did so and its a natural thing to happen every where,so don’t consider it as a crime,collaborating with your people’s enemy against your people is the crime.so stop it now.

    • Abrhaley E't'iDne January 10, 2012

      Abdi,
      Is another AJJJJJJaw like Isayas who deseve to be ignored.

      • alex January 10, 2012

        It is Okay they can ajewjew themselves for now, but they forgot
        time of ajewjew is getting thinner and thinner. The real Eritreans
        will take over their destiny sooner. I wish we can identify our
        public enemies like Abdi , Tsehaye and all traitors. That way, we
        would not be fooled again like DIA did to the people.

        • Abdi January 10, 2012

          Read this and if you are real Eritreans you will not support such agenda,the think is here nobody can tell who is agame and who is Eritrean so just fool the naive ones as if you care about Eritrea,but not for people like me who understands your agenda.
          this is the end of your worthless org.
          http://erigazette.org/?p=1063#more-1063

        • Abdi January 10, 2012

          Keep dreaming of overthrowing PIA,if you are lucky enough you will be serving as a shoe shiner in arat kilo,where your lord reside.

          • sol January 10, 2012

            Hi Andemariam,

            Why u went back to a place you are telling perfect, I know you are in Love with Nesu, go back and move in with him, u know what it gone cost you but di not preach us what we know like the palm of our hand.
            Either you are paid agent or you are living in fantasyland where you Drew PIA as perfectionist.The matter of the fact time is running out for those who sold their mind and embrace deception at the expense of the poor and helpless citizen.After u arrived where you live today you get all the opportunity to educate , work and do what ever you can but right now you are advocating for the evil regime who gambles at the expense and future of its young citizens.
            I want to see not only the peaceful Eritrea but a nation which serve justice and equality regardless of his ethnicity,religion ,region,national origin,and ones political view. A nation which value truth upon deception, substance upon empty rhetoric, right upon wrong, fairness upon prejudice, tolerance upon hate.

          • GOOD MAN January 10, 2012

            Make a sound freedom is around . Abdi keep writing for pass-tempo, because you’ve nothing to loose , you are already a looser.

    • GOOD MAN January 11, 2012

      Abdi get lost,looser.

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